


Burning Ink

by sunaddicted



Category: James Bond (Craig movies), London Spy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Multi, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2016-02-18
Packaged: 2018-05-21 12:37:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6051913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunaddicted/pseuds/sunaddicted
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day the youngest Quartermaster ever in the history of MI6 and the legendary 007 shook hands in front of a vaguely mocking and depressing painting by Turner, they both ignored the simmering heat burning a name on their skin.<br/>[...]<br/>The day a desperate young man like any other in London and an early riser jogger brushed fingers while swapping a bottle of water in the cold and humid air of a grey dawn, the surprise was so great that their paths immediately parted and left them to wander alone the city with the feeling of having let luck slip out of their hands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Burning Ink

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: 00qad soulmate au. They still don’t know but they need to complete the quad to see all colours, understand their tattoos or something like that - anon

_Burning Ink_

When the three letters had appeared on the thin skin of his left wrist, Q’s mother had squealed that his soulmate would certainly be someone from royalty, while his father had muttered something about awfully indecisive parents who couldn’t even name their poor kid – silently, Q had added to the list the extremely rare possibility that he could have more than a soulmate and proceeded to hide the tattoos under the strap of his favourite wristwatch where he could peacefully ignore blue ink marring the expanse of his skin.

When the three letters had appeared on the tanned skin of his right underarm, James’ already had no one in the world he could show them to and ask for an explanation so, he disappeared into a library and researched the anomaly for a whole afternoon on dusty old books that made his eyes and nose itch and his heartbeat quicken in fear – silently, James hid in a bathroom and with a straight razor that had been his father’s he proceeded to erase with neat scars the harsh black ink shining on his skin.

When the three letters had appeared on the delicate skin stretched taut on the arch of his left foot, Alex’s mothers had glanced worriedly at each other and explained to him that for no reason ever he should let people see his soulmarks or they would harm him – silently, Alex had cried himself to sleep that night, rubbing with the toes of his right foot the bright red ink decorating his pale skin under the soft woollen sock.

When the three letters had appeared on the bruised skin of his right hipbone, Danny’s parents had tutted at him reproachfully as if it had been his fault he had been cursed with having more than a soulmate in his life and had carelessly handed him a tube of foundation to hide them – silently, Danny had vowed he would never reject his soulmates only because it was abnormal to have so many and spent the following years buying foundation only to keep his parents at bay, never trying to cover the pretty dark green ink.

* * *

The day the youngest Quartermaster ever in the history of MI6 and the legendary 007 shook hands in front of a vaguely mocking and depressing painting by Turner, they both ignored the simmering heat burning a name on their skin.

Q patiently waited to be alone in the darkness of his flat and sprawled on the battered sofa with his purring cats before peeling the watch off of his wrist, his fingers slightly trembling with a mixture of trepidation and fear; a pained sigh escaped his lips as his digits carefully traced the blue frilly loops with which the name _James_ was adorned.

James rushed into the bathroom of the hotel room in which he had been living since coming back from the death, his flat having been sold by the petty and cold-hearted bitch that M was, and impatiently yanked his perfectly ironed shirt away from his torso, quickly bending his arm in a way that would give him a good visual of the pale scarring tissue marring the underside of his bicep; the black ink had weakly managed to seep through the thickened and ruined skin and had branded a sharp-edged _Gabriel_ on his muscle.

After chugging an abundant amount of scotch to steel himself, James grabbed his mobile and dialled by heart the number of the Quartermaster he had managed to obtain by browsing in Bill’s laptop, left turned on and unprotected in his locked office “You don’t look like a Gabriel” he said as a greeting as soon as the clicking of someone picking up could be heard.

Q huffed a laugh, fumbling for the glasses he had supposedly abandoned on his messy bedtable while a ball of fur mewled loudly in displease at its nap being so rudely interrupted “Well, that’s good since my name is classified” he quipped, petting Oliver so that he would stop making a ruckus over nothing – why couldn’t he follow Pampuria’s example and go gorge himself with food?

Silence stretched over the line for a couple of minutes during which Q managed to find his glasses and go to the kitchen to fix himself a much needed cup of tea, while James tried to empty his mind of all the worry and systematically obliged his muscles to unclench and let his tired body relax.

“Do you know the others?” Q finally asked, sitting at his small breakfast table, absentmindedly rubbing at a scorch mark with his thumb.

“No” James sighed deeply.

“Well, that’s good” Q tried to lighten up the maudlin mood “I won’t fall into bed with you just because you’re my soulmate: I want to be wined and dined, Mr. Bond”

Relief spread through James like warm water and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips: he wasn’t sure he could fall for a perfect stranger he hadn’t even particularly liked at first impact and was glad they would get a chance at getting to know each other better before swearing eternal love to one another “As you wish, my dear Quartermaster”

“Begin your masterful courtship with bringing back the equipment I gave you, you wanker”

* * *

The day a desperate young man like any other in London and an early riser jogger brushed fingers while swapping a bottle of water in the cold and humid air of a grey dawn, the surprise was so great that their paths immediately parted and left them to wander alone the city with the feeling of having let luck slip out of their hands.

Danny was still slumped against the freezing railing of the bridge, unfocused eyes staring in the direction of his shattered phone as he untucked his sweat-soaked shirt from his trousers and the sensitive pads of his fingers traced the slanted and clean contours of a name that had stemmed from one of the letters etched on his hipbone; an hysterical chuckle left his throat as he looked down to see a boringly common _Alex_ shimmer faintly on his pale skin.

Alex made sure that all the windows were closed, that the dark curtains blocked the sight of any passerbyes and that the doors were firmly locked before retiring into the bathroom and turning up only the small but bright lights above the mirror and sat on the toilet to peel the sock hiding his soulmarks off; his breath caught in his throat as the name _Danny_ seemed to mock him with its simplicity and childish wonkiness.

Burning with hope, Danny woke up earlier than he needed to every morning and, before heading in to work, he would stand on the bridge and wait for a quarter of his soul to run by, desperately clinging to the water bottle as if to reassure himself that Alex’s appearance hadn’t been a figment of his delirious imagination.

Obstinately scared, Alex changed his running route for as long as his mind used to repetitive patterns and long-ingrained habits could endure, prompted to get as far away as possible from Danny by the harshly cold advices his family had given him during the years resonating throughout his brain in a tiring litany.

When they met again, Alex was stunned into frightened silence as he quietly studied the other’s scrawny figure and tender smile: he was too fragile and carefree and beautiful to be with someone like him who had an horrifying hoard of shadows following in his steps, waiting for him to stumble to devour him alive and make him quickly disappear. But Danny was brighter than the sun and a star of such a magnitude that Alex couldn’t help being snatched by his powerful gravity, crash and burn together with him in a blissful loss of control.

“You know me” Danny had often whispered in the afterglow of their making love, voice quietly amazed in the soft shadows of the bedroom permeated by the mingled scents of their sweat “We’re meant to be”

“But we’re not just meant for each other” Alex pointed out, sadness tugging at his lungs.

Danny fluttered kisses all over his face, humming a reassuring tune that resembled one of the pieces of classical music Alex had been listening to that afternoon while they lounged together in the bath “Don’t worry: we’ll find them”

* * *

The day a blond-haired man with cold and calculating icy-blue eyes saved him from the chest in which he had been buried alive to choke while tormenting himself with memories of Danny’s beautiful smile, he wasn’t expecting to feel the familiar burning on his skin and with bloodshot eyes, he looked up at his saviour “We can’t leave Danny alone” he sobbed, before passing out.

James buried the surprise deep in the back of his mind and busied himself with saving the unconscious agent, while Q prattled on in his ear about some new betting poll going around Q-Branch – that lot probably were the maddest of the bunch – with his posh voice, completely unaware that another quarter of his soul had been recovered – and the last one too, if the way the man had cried the name Danny was something to go by.

As soon as they arrived in Medical, James disappeared into the bowels of MI6 to drag Q away from whatever project he was working on and bring him to the bathroom, where he could check what name the ink had shaped underneath his arm and inform him about the information he had gathered; he couldn’t exactly remember what letters he had mutilated with the razor when he was just a child, but he could vaguely recall peeking an _A_ and a _D_ on Q’s wrist during their shared showers.

“James, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Q sighed, letting his soulmate drag him around as if he had been a lifeless plush toy “I’m not in the mood for a quick shag, you caveman”

James ignored his chattering and shoved him in the bathroom, quickly checking it was empty before talking “I found them”

“Who?”

“Our soulmates” James quickly unbuttoned the shirt and shoved his underarm under Q’s nose, the name Alex almost pulsing under their gazes “He’s the man I needed to retrieve and he knows the other one… Danny?”

Q bared his wrist and looked at the letters flanking James’ name “Fuck. I don’t know whether I’m happy or not" He and James had been alone for so long and found an equilibrium that made the both of them happy.

James sighed and nuzzled Q’s messy curls “I know, Gabe” He didn’t let his lover’s real name slip out often, but he found the sound of those syllables rolling off his tongue comforting “We’ll figure out something, but now the priority is to retrieve Danny: the same people who wanted to be rid of Alex probably will look for him to tide up all the loose ends”

Q nodded and kissed James’ blond eyelashes, fluttering to hide those pale irises he knew would melt warmly when they were alone “Let’s go, then”

* * *

“Danny Holt?” Q inquired, slowly emerging from the shadows of the dark alley where he had waited for his clone to walk by on his way to home.

Startled brown eyes, speckled with green, looked up at him “Who are you?” Danny studied with a mixture of horror and fascination, the man standing in front of him: if it hadn’t been for the hipster glasses hiding half of his face and the much sharper angles of his figure, they could have passed for twins.

Q smiled in a way he hoped to be reassuring “A friend.. Let me show you?” He slowly reached for the strap of his wristwatch and undid it, discovering the patch of skin on which also the name _Alex_ had appeared.

“Alex? Alex Turner?” Danny crowded over the pale and thin wrist laid bare for him, fingers uncertainly hovering over the names etched in a beautiful shade of blue that matched the shadowed arabesque of the man’s veins “Is he alive?”

“Yes, you can see him if you come with me” Q reassured, refastening the strap.

Danny made an aborted movement to stop him “Wait! Can I…?”

“Not here, Danny: it’s a security risk” Q apologised, turning to step into the alley at which end James was waiting for them in his beloved Aston.

“Oh, you’re like Alex?”

“Yeah, James too” Q raised his hand in an all clear sign when his lover flashed the high beams of the car “He can be incredibly charming as well as disgustingly rude: don’t let his temperament faze you”

Danny didn’t have the time to answer or ask more questions as he was ushered into the back seat of the car that started with an aggressive roar and smoothly inserted itself in the traffic. He warily observed as Q’s hand briefly caressed the driver’s - James’? - thigh in a mute display of affection.

“Did everything go according to plan?” James asked and his cold and calculating voice filled the car, making Danny squirm against his seat.

Q turned on the radio, searching for the classical music station they both enjoyed to listen to “Naturally”

Danny recognised the cool and detached facade from the beginning of his relationship with Alex: the mask spies wore when in front of a civilian like him. Q didn’t even introduce him to their soulmate, probably tuning in on his bad mood and choosing that wasn’t a battle he wanted to pick while in the car “Could you slow down a bit?” he pleaded when the tires screeched loudly as James made a sharp turn.

Before James could give a rude answer, Q stretched and fluttered a kiss against his stubbled cheek “I won’t erase any speeding tickets, love, and if you wreck the car you can kiss sex goodbye for the next month” he threatened sweetly.

James sighed and took some weight off the accelerator and even stopped at the traffic light despite the yellow light being the lit one “The things I do for love”

“The things you do to sate your sex drive, you mean” Q smirked and pecked him again before glancing back at Danny and winking “Thank you, dear”

* * *

Alex smiled widely when the door of his private room in Medical opened and Danny walked in, hunched over himself in a way that clearly told him apart from Q, who strode along the corridors of MI6 with overwhelming confidence “Danny”

“Alex, I thought you were dead” Danny whispered, wide eyes roving over his figure.

“Come here” Alex sighed, opening his arms to welcome him against hid chest and kiss the worry away from Danny’s mind. The warm weight of his lover’s body against him was the most beautiful thing he had ever felt in his life and he kissed Danny’s forehead “I didn’t want you to worry”

“I’m so happy you’re alive” Danny inhaled deeply the scent of Alex’s skin, hidden under the acre smell of disinfectant, and clung to those wide shoulders he had missed so much “I thought they were lying to me”

“Who?” Alex asked, massaging the tense muscles of Danny’s nape.

“James and the other man… Q?” Danny still hadn’t been allowed to touch their hands, their names were still absent from the canvas of his skin “They’re… ”

“Weird?”

Danny shrugged and snuggled closer to Alex “Unpleasant. They seem fake, somehow”

“Their security clearance is even higher than mine” Alex offered as an explanation, hugging Danny tighter “But they’re good people and very much in love with each other” It was as clear as day and Alex had been glad to have Danny in his life, someone who would love him with the same burning intensity James and Q couldn’t give him because they were too enthralled with each other.

A knock came to disturb their peaceful reunion, followed by Q peeking in “Should we visit later?” he inquired, eyeing their intimate embrace.

“No, please come in” Alex smiled and let Danny curl closer to him as their soulmates made their entrance in the small room, filling it with their gigantic personalities “Thank you for finding Danny”

Q smiled politely as he sat down on the chair, seemingly aware of James taking his place behind him in a protective stance even if he wasn’t looking at him “It was no trouble” he reassured “How are you enjoying MI6 so far, Danny?” he inquired to make some chitchat, trying to evade the elephant in the room.

“It’s a bit sterile” Danny admitted shyly, darting his eyes downwards to escape the coldness in James’ icy-blue eyes.

“Really? It’s home for us” Q smiled up at his lover and swatted him on his toned abs when he saw the intimidating expression on his features “You caveman” he scowled.

James sighed and combed the messy curls out of Q’s bright jade-green eyes “I love you too, boffin”

Q quirked an eyebrow and grinned before focusing again his attention on the couple lounging on the bed “Well, we came to offer Danny to come home with us tonight so he can sleep in the guestroom until you’ve got to stay here in medical, Alex”

“Thank you, it’s not safe anymore for him to be on his own”

“I’m getting rid of the main threats, but it will take some time” James reassured.

Danny glanced at Alex, trying to communicate how uncomfortable the arrangement felt to him “I.. ”

“You don’t have to accept or refuse right now” Q smiled “We’ll stop by on our way out”

* * *

Danny curled under the soft sheets and listened to the unfamiliar noises filling the flat in which Q - Gabriel, but apparently his name was classified - and James lived with two very possessive and cuddly cats. They were watching a movie about which they had bickered during dinner, pointing chopsticks at each other as if they would better carry their points across; they agreed on re-watching it to settle the argument while Q cleaned the table and James scooped ice-cream in three crystal bowls that Danny was deathly afraid to shatter. After half an hour, Danny had excused himself to bed: he couldn’t stand anymore feeling like the third wheel.

One of the cats landed quietly on the bed and padded up to him, purring loudly “You fluffy monster” Danny cooed, scratching lightly at the cat’s twitchy and soft ears.

“Is Oliver bothering you?”

Danny looked up to see James propped against the half-opened door “No. Did Q fall asleep?”

“Yes, I knew he would” James shrugged and smiled “Can we talk for a minute?”

Danny nodded and patted on the duvet “Please”

“I’m sorry for having been an arse today” James raised an hand to stop any words that may come out of Danny’s mouth “Let me finish, please. I’m difficult to form enduring attachments and it took me and Q quite a long time to come to this.. Normalcy - finding you two made me fear for the stability of our relationship”

“It’s understandable” Danny reassured, hiding his face in Oliver’s fur “But we’re meant to be”

James sighed “Neither of us believed in predestination, we dated and got to know each other well before using words such as love and moving in together”

“You don’t want us”

“We want the chance to fall in love with you two and accept you in our life for who you are and not because there’s a name on our skins”  James reached for Danny’s hair tentatively “They look nothing like Q’s but they feel the same: you should teach him how to tame them”

Danny smiled “Do you really want it to lay flat?”

“No, but it drives Q mad” James grinned “Good night, Danny”

“Good night, James” Maybe, things would work out in the end.  


End file.
